I'm not all for the K-pop crazy and all....but you guys need to look at some auditions tapes. A lot of these girls CAN SING VERY WELL. SNSD only has 5 real singers, the rest are there for the dancing and in fact all have other talents they practice on the off season(when they actually get one).
The 2NE1 chicks had impressive audition tapes, how did they end up with this style they have now is mind boggling.

KARA I can't vouch for.

These artist by contract aren't expect allowed to have boyfriends or write their own music or speak of the development process of the songs they already sing. Korea eats this shit up though, so of course nothing is gonna change til the public gets sick of it. BoA's last album sounded like here US one. Did great, this has been the formula since 2007 with Korea. Like everything to sound and look<--emphasis on this the same it seems. I don't get it.

@soulhunter14

Japan still prefers Visual Kei,pop and idol groups over all other genres.
I've heard that it's ridiculous in Hokkaido. Many of my favorite rock bands have stated that it wasn't until L'arc post visual/end of X japan,MM and JAM days that rock got some real fan base. 2000-2001 made a lot of difference. Japan is still in their early Utada R&B phase imo.